National events strategy 2024 to 2035: equality impact assessment

Key findings

Key findings of the analysis of the public consultation^[10] were:

• Boosting the economy and the events sector contributing to enhancing well-being and community engagement were considered to be the most important strategic priorities. The second most prevalent theme was on the strategy including a greater focus on equalities, diversity and inclusion;
• 83% of respondents felt Scotland’s events were welcoming, 52% felt events in Scotland are inclusive, 48% felt that events in Scotland are accessible and 41% felt that events were affordable;
• Mixed views were expressed on the extent to which event organisers involve communities in planning the events they hold. Although just over half (55%) of respondents agreed with this statement, around a quarter (28%) neither agreed nor disagreed and around one in six (15%) disagreed; and
• Respondents were asked to identify what was important for them in creating an excellent event experience. The most prevalent themes included the importance of events creating a welcoming, inspiring, enjoyable atmosphere, of being accessible and inclusive and the event experience being of high quality.

The wider Equality Impact Assessment process for the National Events Strategy Review (including the roundtable hosted by the Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture on 9 August 2023) identified additional findings and partner feedback relevant to the development of the National Events Strategy Review, including:

General

• Events offer opportunities to boost equality for all of the protected characteristics but there are headline opportunities related to disabled and older people (primarily around boosting the accessibility of events); young people (building on the success of the 2018 Year of Young People and focusing on participation, empowerment, workforce, volunteering and skills development); the LGBTI community; and multi-cultural communities (enhancing the cultural diversity of events, boosting inclusion and community engagement). There are also other related opportunities focusing on people with intersecting identities and the other protected groups.
• Major and mega events in particular can increase the profile of Scotland's commitment to equality on the international stage.

Welcome and information

• One of the most effective ways to engage all of the protected groups in events of all sizes is through focused marketing and PR activity to underline the welcome as diverse communities might feel some events are not open to them or do not reflect their culture or traditions.
• An element of the welcome is good communications. This needs to showcase diverse and authentic imagery. There are still some examples of stock images being used such as disabled people in wheelchairs with a companion. These are not appropriate. The VisitScotland led diversity photography project is an asset that events could use^[11]. Events should also consider the wide range of disabilities when shaping their communications. People want to see themselves, their community and their cultures reflected in marketing.
• Events should think about other innovative ways to welcome the disabled community. For example, the weather at outdoor events can be a challenge for wheelchair users if grass becomes very wet. It can be difficult to plan for this in advance. In acknowledgement of this, events could consider offering to exchange bought tickets for another date when the weather is drier. Engagement with representative organisations and communities would identify opportunities for events to consider, as appropriate.
• All event staff need to be aware of their event’s trans policies, which should include information on treating everyone with dignity and respect. This is particularly important when there are security searches and in terms of dispute resolution (for example around the use of male/female toilets if gender neutral toilets are not available).
• It is important that events promote their trans policies on their website to underline the welcome. This provides information on safely getting to and from the event, and on what trans people should expect to find when they get there in terms of facilities (including the location of gender neutral toilets).

Community engagement

• Early and effective engagement with protected groups and different communities is essential to creating an excellent event experience. This came through strongly from all engagement undertaken. The event should be responsive to the needs of minorities – which local consultation can reveal.
• Community engagement can however be resource intensive for events. To avoid “reinventing the wheel”, enhanced resources showcasing best practice could be helpful.
• Developing a cultural programme alongside major events helps boost cultural diversity and engagement, as does creating inclusive spaces. Examples of good practice suggested include the Pride House venues funded by the Scottish Government and delivered by LEAP Sports Scotland to celebrate and spotlight the LGBTI community during the 2014 Commonwealth Games and 2018 European Championships^[12].
• Making accessibility information readily available is very important for disabled people to feel like they can attend, volunteer, or work at events. This information needs to cover the event site itself but also accommodation, transport and other parts of the journey to and from the event. VisitScotland’s website provides further information on the delivery of sustainable and accessible events^[13].
• Sometimes communities are consulted and engaged with too late in the process. Trust and connectedness takes time to build, so it is important to engage communities from the beginning rather than planning the event and then starting to think about equality, diversity and inclusion later. Engaging communities early provides the opportunity for them to explore any funding opportunities for any parallel events they may wish to deliver. This can further boost participation, empowerment and authentic engagement in an event.
• There is an opportunity for the National Events Strategy to boost the cultural diversity of Scotland’s events with a focus on multi-cultural and LGBTI communities. Scotland’s Year of Stories in particular is an example of the development of a culturally diverse and highly successful events programme. Funded events to this programme reported on the scale of activity specifically designed to engage with or showcase under-represented groups. 67 events (33% of the entire event programme) engaged minority ethnic communities and 26 events (13% of the entire programme) engaged the LGBTI community.
• Scotland’s Year of Young People 2018 was a significant success highlighting the key role of young people in all aspects of events.^[14] There continues to be a significant opportunity for Scotland’s events to build on the successes of the Year of Young People to help ensure that young people are a central part of the event journey from initial design right through to delivery. There are particular opportunities for young people relating to wellbeing, community engagement and inclusion and also around skills development, volunteering and fair work.

Workforce/skills and volunteering

• Monitoring who is volunteering at and working for events can help identify opportunities to make the workforce more diverse.
• A number of opportunities to boost the numbers from diverse communities working and volunteering at events were identified at the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion roundtable event on 9 August. These included: specifically tailored training and development – especially for young people; better evidence on the diversity of the events sector workforce and volunteers to measure progress; and making information on accessibility readily available to attract more disabled people to consider volunteering or pursuing a career in the sector.
• There is a need to understand the barriers (for events and more generally) to volunteering. Barriers can stop people from volunteering in the first place, or force them to drop out due to a change in their own circumstances. Examples might include the onset of ill-health or disability, the arrival of a child or moving home. They might be practical barriers, structural barriers or emotional barriers.^[15] Examples given by stakeholder groups included the choice young people can face between volunteering and securing paid part-time work, and the impact of caring responsibilities.
• It is important that the sector adopts the latest and best practice in terms of trans rights for employees and volunteers and that events promote this pro-actively. For example, around name changes and employer support mechanisms. Volunteering opportunities should be pro-actively promoted via trans networks and representative organisations.
• The fear of discrimination is a significant barrier to the trans community. This should be recognised and addressed through, for example, engagement with representative groups to understand issues and scope out opportunities to address them. Attracting the trans community – as paid employees or volunteers - allows the sector to tap into the broad range of skills and experience, enhancing the diversity of events overall, boosting social equality, and promoting community profile and empowerment.

Infrastructure and facilities

• For the trans community, information on the availability of gender-neutral toilet facilities and safe transport options to and from the event are very important.
• Events should also consider opportunities to welcome multicultural communities and other protected groups, for example, by offering quiet rooms, sensory rooms, breastfeeding rooms and multifaith spaces. Where it is not possible to create these spaces, it is important to share what facilities are available via effective and early communications. It is also important to factor these aspects into any community engagement taking place with local people.

COVID-19

• COVID 19 still impacts on many people with protected characteristics and events continue to provide a strong opportunity to support the wellbeing and future resilience of communities going forward.

Barriers to engagement in events

• Affordability, transport and other infrastructure matter in terms of whether communities engage in events.
• It is important to tell the stories of diverse communities (for example athletes from diverse communities competing in sporting events) as part of communications for major and mega events. This boosts profile, enhances inclusion and empowers communities.
• The planning needed for disabled people to arrange a trip to an event or a holiday is significant. Even for people very experienced in navigating the internet this can be challenging, with the need to review options across numerous websites. Lead partners and event organisers could collaborate to bring event accessibility and journey information together so that disabled people can more easily plan.
• Diverse communities do not only operate locally, but also operate across Scotland (e.g. online). Harnessing this opportunity could help boost community engagement especially around major/mega events with supported activity right across the country.

Delivering success

• A clear delivery plan is essential to make the most of the opportunity the National Events Strategy offers to boost Equality, Diversity and Inclusion across Scotland.

• Making a link to other key strategies – such as the Race Equality Framework^[16] (including the culture section where the Themed Years approach is covered), Hate Crime Strategy^[17] and the planned National Youthwork Strategy^[18] – was identified as very important to ensure a consistent and aligned approach. It could be helpful to include reference to the UN Sustainable Development Goals in the revised strategy^[19] or its implementation plan.

• A Reference Group for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion could be useful to share learning and to help advise partners leading the implementation of the refreshed strategy. Clear terms of reference would be required.